If you’ve been studying search engine optimization recently, then you probably know that having a lot of backlinks for your site is one of the best ways to improve your site’s search engine rankings. If you’re not familiar with backlinks – a backlink is a link to your site from another website. When a site places a link to your site on one of their web pages, it is indexed by the search engine as a backlink to your site. The more backlinks you have, the more popular your site appears to be in the search engines.  Therefore backlink building is one of the fundamental aspects of search engine optimization, and it should practiced by anyone trying to bring more traffic to their website.

Building Backlinks

There are many ways to get backlinks for your site, and most of them are time consuming and bring very little results, despite an inordinate amount of work. If you want to be successful building backlinks, then you’ll need to focus on quality instead of quantity. It would be better to have 10 backlinks on sites that are relevant to your niche and receive a lot of traffic, than to have a large volume of backlinks from sites that are completely irrelevant and/or low in traffic. If you want to reach success with your backlinks, then you’ll need to make them manually instead of trying all of the shortcuts that will only result in low quality backlinks which will not significantly improve your search engine ranking. When it comes to building backlinks you have two main options – you can seek the help and permission of other site owners by doing link exchanges, social bookmarking and advertising, or you can build the links yourself.

Paid Linls

A good way to build your backlink count is to offer other site owners a position on your site in exchange for a position on your site. This way both parties benefit and both parties save time and money. Try to find sites that are relevant to your site and then contact the owner and ask them if they would like to do a link exchange with you. Usually the site owner will not hesitate to put your link on their website, as long as your site is clean and does not appear to violate Google’s terms of service. Many times site owners do not want their link placed on a site that could be conducting illegal or immoral activity, and just as you would like quality backlinks, so would they.

Building Link Farms

Perhaps the best way to build a solid network of links that would be most beneficial to you would be to have a network of websites that all link to each other, with one main website being the focus. These are called link farms, and they are the most profitable form of backlink building. The reason why link farms are far more profitable than any other form of backlink building is because you are the only person benefiting. Since all of the sites belong to you, you’ll be maximizing your chances of keeping visitors viewing your web pages. Instead of clicking away to another website, your visitors will be traveling through a maze of your own websites, not only giving you a substantial amount of quality backlinks, but also maximizing the profit made from each visitor.

Warning: Before building a link farm you should know that Google does not like link networks from the same IP address. In other words, you’ll need to make sure each site is hosted by a different IP address. One of the ways you can do this is to build blogs and micro sites on web 2.0 properties like Squidoo or Hubpages. There are tons of these sites online, and each one is hosted by an IP address that is different from your site. You could also purchase Class C IP addresses from your hosting company in some instances to have all of your own websites hosted on different IP addresses.

Domain names are by far one of the most important aspects of the website industry. Without the right domain name, even the most advanced website will fail to produce results. Web surfers tend to prefer websites that have catchy, easy-to-remember domain names that pertain to a particular keyword or phrase. However this does not mean that a domains value arises from these attributes. In fact the value of a domain really has very little to do with these features. Domain name value is a very complex issue and it should be noted that the real value of a domain can only be decided by the buyer of the domain. As always, what one person may regard as useless, another may find to be priceless. Although there is no way to place an exact value on a domain, there are ways to boost the value of your domain.

Search Engine Optimization

Perhaps the single most important aspect of your domain in regards to value will be it’s search engine ranking It is an undeniable fact that websites that are ranked higher in the search engines, generally tend to sell for more money. The reason for this is obvious. In fact, even domains with terrible names can sell for a good price if they have a solid search engine ranking. One of the most important search engine optimization attributes in regards to domain value is the amount of incoming links your website has. Incoming links, also known as backlinks, are links placed on other websites that lead to your website. Generally the more backlinks your site has the more traffic it will receive. Potential domain buyers are looking for domains that can be acquired and then monetized with as little effort as possible, so high traffic means high value in the domain game.

Domain Age

The age of the domain will also play a tremendous deciding factor in it’s overall value. The older a domain is, the more valuable it is considered. This is because older domains have an established web presence, which means they have had a longer time period to gather traffic enhancing attributes such as backlinks, search engine ranking, and overall popularity and recognition. Newer domains are considered relatively useless because they lack these qualities and are essentially bare projects that would need larger investments to grow. Although this is true in most cases, there are some cases when the name of a domain alone can cause it to sell for a high price. For example, you may own a domain name that matches a popular phrase or slang. Even though the domain name may be brand new and the domain itself is completely blank, the name alone could inspire a more fortunate buyer to spend an exuberant amount of cash for the name alone.

Name Value

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of your domain’s values is it’s name. So, what makes a domain name valuable? Names that are short tend to be more valuable, and names with four letters or less or considered the most valuable. Names that are popular keywords carry a lot of value as well, however any key phrases that contain hyphens should be avoided. Site names with hyphens generally hold a lower value. The extension of your domain name also matters as well, as .com domains tend to sell for more.

Finding the right domain name is often a difficult process that involves intense brainstorming, as well as the annoying procedure of trying to find a name that is available and suitable for your website. Once you have found a good domain, it is even harder to find another good one as the number of premium domains is quickly dwindling. In fact, there are barely any premium domain names available online today, as the market has become so saturated, and is expected to become even more saturated as we progress into the 21^st century.

Experts predict that all .com domains that are shorter than 7 letters and are relevant to a popular keyword will be gone by the half way mark of the 21^st century. This means that a good domain name is like prime real estate at the moment, and even though domains cost less than houses, their value is steadily rising despite the scare that the market experienced in the early 2000’s. If you are having trouble finding a good domain name for your other websites after being successful with one domain name, then you may want to consider using a subdomain. Subdomains are also excellent for search engine optimization.

Subdomains and Search Engine Optimization

The reason why subdomains are perfect for search engine optimization is because they are actually viewed as their won website by search engine crawlers. This means that each subdomain receives it’s own page ranking in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Another distinct advantage of subdomains, is that you do not have to pay for another domain name registry or an extra hosting account. Instead you can simply use your existing domain name and establish an entirely new web presence with your subdomain.

Subdomains and Sub Niches

A great way to use subdomains for search engine optimization is to create subdomains on your site that are relevant to a main keyword or industry. Within each sub domain  you could place content that focuses on that keyword. For example, you may have a primary domain name that is called “highqualitywritingtools.com.” To further capitalize on this niche, and to enhance your search engine presence through diversification, you could open up several sub domains for free that pertain to a variety of sub niches such as: “ballpens.highqualitywritingtools.com” or “compositionnotepads. highqualitywritingtools.com”. By creating subdomains on your main niche site that target long tail keywords, you;re generating extremely targeted automatic traffic for your site.

Subdomains and Backlinks

Another advantage to subdomains is that each subdomain is considered to be another site in the search engines, which means you can link your subdomains to each other, and then link them all to your main site to build a backlink farm. This kind of internal link building, if done correctly, is a great way to get your site(s) indexed in the search engines quickly, and to get a higher page ranking with little effort. Remember that the most important aspect of backlink building is quality. Simply setting up a bunch of subdomains for the sole purpose of setting up backlinks is not going to benefit you, in fact it would prove to be detrimental to your site’s page ranking. Instead, you should make sure each page is populated with relevant and high quality content. Then once the site is populated with content you can begin building a proper link structure that interlinks all of your sites into a traffic generating network.

Many webmasters have resorted to using hosting multiple domains to increase their business’s outreach. While using multiple domains to diversify your traffic stream may seem to be an appealing option, the same outcome can be reached using a single domain. How you may ask? Well, with each domain you have the option of creating sub-domains. In this article we will discuss how sub-domains can accomplish the same results as multiple domain hosting, with no additional monetary investment.

Sub-Domains

A sub-domain is a secondary domain to your main domain. An example of a sub-domain would be subdomain.domains.com.In this example, “domains.com” is the primary domain, and “subdomains.domain.com” is the sub-domain. You’ve probably noticed that many websites have a support sub-domain setup for customer support purposes. The reason why sub-domains offer the same advantages as multiple domain hosting, is because the search engines view these sub-domains as separate websites. Sub-domains can have their own separate search engine ranking, thereby allowing you to capitalize on a wider range of keywords for your niche, much in the same way multiple domain hosting would.

Dominating Your Niche with Sub-Domains

Sub-domains give webmasters the ability to create multiple websites within a single domain. Each sub-domain is then centered around a particular keyword, thereby improving the search engine ranking of that particular sub-domain, and ultimately your entire website. Remember that sub-domains are seen as independent websites by search engines, which means that any links that point to your main website from your sub-domain are seen as backlinks! Backlinks are links that point to your website’s URL from other websites. Using sub-domains to create backlinks for your main website is a good way to create what is known as a “link farm”. The SEO benefits reaped from using sub-domains is almost unlimited, as you can have as many sub-domains as you’d like, each one focusing on a particular keyword. For example, if your niche is “electronic pets”, then you could create several sub-domains called “ElectronicDogs.ElectronicPets.com”, or “ElectronicHamsters.ElectronicPets.com”. Now whenever an individual searches for “electronic hamsters”, your site stands a good chance of receiving a high page rank!

Using Sub-Domains Correctly

Using sub-domains to boost your site’s search engine ranking can be a very simple task, as long as you use a bit of common sense when doing so. The key to using sub-domains correctly is to make sure each sub-domain is very relative to the main domain. Meaning you want to make sure your sub-domain is relevant to the niche of your main website. Creating a sub-domain centered around electronics attached to a main domain that concerns dog grooming would obviously not be beneficial.  Setting up sub-domains only takes a minute or so for each one, and most web hosting services allow you to set up sud-domains at no additional cost. For this reason, you should not be afraid to experiment with sub-domains to see what works best for your particular situation. Try gathering 20 relevant keywords t your niche and then set up a sub-domain for each individual keyword. The setup links to your main website on each sub-domain and place relevant keyword rich content on each sub-domain. Wait one week and check your search engine results. The key to enhancing your search engine optimization abilities is to practice with trial and error.

Social bookmarking has become one of the best ways for website owners to draw attention to their site exponentially. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of social bookmarking; think Digg or Twitter. Any social site that users can place a link to a certain page on is considered a social bookmarking site. People use these sites to share information or media that they find to be useful or entertaining with their friends and family. These sites make browsing the web a fun and exciting experience because people can find out what is new and interesting without trying to find it themselves. By placing your site on a social bookmarking site, you’ll not only receive direct attention to your site immediately, but you’ll also receive search engine optimization benefits as well.

The Connection Between SEO and Social Bookmarking

Proper search engine optimization requires the use of many methods combined in a collective effort to bring as much traffic to the site as possible. The more traffic your site gets, the more popular it appears to be form the perspective of a search engine. Therefore website popularity is almost like a snowball effect, as the popularity builds the page rank rises and it becomes a progressive traffic generating cycle. Social bookmarking lets you expose your site to a wide group of people, many of which run their own blogs, which are indexed in the search engines just as regular websites are. If someone links to your site on their blog, they are creating what is called a backlink for your site. The more live backlinks your site has on the internet, the more popular it appears to be, and the more favoritism it will receive from the search engines. Perhaps the most important connection between search engine optimization and social bookmarking is that your site can receive popularity before it is ever indexed in the search engines, which ironically is an excellent way to get your site indexed!

Utilizing the Full Power of Social Bookmarking

Since there are so many social bookmarking sites online, it would be foolish to target only one of them. However submitting your link to each one manually can be a time intensive process. Fortunately there are ways to accomplish this without wasting time completing repetitive menial tasks. You have two options; you can outsource the work to another person, or you can use an application that will complete the task for you with very minimal input. The first option is almost self-explanatory – simply hire a freelancer, tell him to sign up to as many social bookmarking sites as you’d like, and then tell them to make a post about your site. You can also pay many freelancers a few pennies each to visit your site and vote it up using the social bookmarking buttons on your site. The second option is a bit more tricky but costs less and is equally effective if done correctly. Simply find an application, or have one made that will complete the aforementioned task automatically. You can find out about applications like these at online forums or by doing a simple web search.

Final Thoughts

While social bookmarking sites are a great way to market your site, they are also inundated with other marketers and spammers, so it is important to remember that this is a numbers game. The more amount of work you put int, the more results you’ll see. The key to improving search engine optimization with social bookmarking is consistency.

Understanding your website’s traffic is a crucial part of enhancing your search engine optimization efforts.  Knowing where most of your website’s traffic is originating from will allow you to place more emphasis on that traffic stream. For example if you know that most of your traffic is coming from YouTube, then you may want to increase your video marketing efforts. Likewise, you can focus more on the weaker sources of traffic to improve your overall outreach. Any online business owner should be well aware of their website’s traffic stats if they want their visitor base to grow.  Many people opt to use expensive softwares to analyze stats. However this is not necessary, as most of the analytics needed can be found within your control panel which is provided by your web hosting provider.

cPanel Web Analytics

Since cPanel is by fare the most widely-used control panel around, we’ll use it as our primary example of how a control panel can provide all of the website traffic statistics needed. cPanel includes three analytic tools; Analog, AwStats and Webalizer.  When you first discover these tools they can be a bit difficult to use, however as you begin to explore the various features, you’ll soon learn just how simple they are to use. To help you get started using these tools we have included a quick overview of each one.

Analog

Out of the three tools offered by cPanel, Analog is the most advanced. The analytic results offered by Analog are presented in text from, instead of in graphs. However, all of the information you’ll need to improve your website’s traffic flow can be found in Analog. Although this tool has a relatively steep learning curve, learning to use it will improve your site’s performance greatly.

AwStats and Webalizer

The second most advanced tool offered by control panel is AwStats. Although it provides detailed analytical information, it also presents this information in easy to understand charts and graphs. With AwStats, you can analyze statistics concerning email, media viewing and even File Transfer Protocol.  This tool also let’s you create scheduled and requested  reports via it’s simple user interface. You should use AwStats to setup weekly reports of your website’s traffic, and use Analog to analyze your daily traffic.

Webalizer provides statistical analysis on a monthly basis, giving you a broader understanding of your site’s long term stats. Like AwStats, Webalizer also presents information in very simple graphs and charts that anyone can understand. Although the stats provided by Webalizer are basic, they provide great insight to your site’s progression. I would not recommend using Webalizer as your sole means of understanding your website’s traffic though. It is best to use all three of these tools in combination to achieve optimal results.

It is important to note that all of these programs are included free with cPanel, and many other control panels include similar tools. You should remember this before you make the decision to purchase expensive web analytics software unnecessarily.

The art of search engine optimization is made to seem like rocket science by many SEO “experts”. However, the truth is search engine optimization can be learned by anyone with an hour or two of extra time per day. Successful search engine optimization can be achieved by focusing on only two aspects of page ranking; high quality backlinks and correct keyword usage. To master the two aforementioned attributes all that is needed is  bit of persistence and the following knowledge.

Domain Name Keyword Usage

One of the easiest ways to gain page ranking for your site is to choose a domain name that is close to or identical to the targeted keyword.  For example, if your targeted keyword is “ basketball goals,” then it seems the best name you could possibly have would be basketballgoals.com. However many SEO experts note that search engines give credit to sites with dashes between words, so if your primary option was taken, you could also choose the domain name basketball-goals.com instead. The most important thing to remember is that your sites name should be memorable.

Keyword Density

As mentioned earlier, keywords are one of the most important factors of search engine optimization.  However, the way the keywords are sued are just as important as the keywords themselves. Keywords should be used at a density of 3-5% of the total content. Keyword optimization is best achieved when the keyword is used in the beginning of the text, in the middle and within the last twenty five words of the content on the page. Keywords should also be used strategically within the design of the website, as in title tags, meta tags and anchor texts.

Simple HTML Coding

Search engines index the internet using crawlers, which comb your website for content. These crawlers do a good job of indexing text coded in basic HTML format but cannot effectively index Flash and Javascript content. Therefore, keeping your site encoded with simple text initially will let your site receive a higher page ranking.

Optimizing URL Extensions and Linking

Using keywords in URL extensions is also a good way to target search engine queries. Make sure you separate the extensions with dashes as we mentioned earlier. You also want to get a lot of incoming links from other websites, particularly sites that are authoritative in your niche. However before you being searching for backlink opportunities from other websites, it is a good idea to link your site together internally. The more internal links you have pointing towards your homepage, the better your chances are of the homepage showing up in search engine queries. Using a site map to index your internal links is a good way to optimize your site as well. It is important to submit your site map to Google once you have finished making it.

Every online business needs a good shopping cart to facilitate all of their e-commerce transactions. Most of the time the products or services you sell will not be the deciding factor in regards to the success of your business. Rather the methods in which you market and distribute those products and services is what will ultimately determine the productivity of your business. A good shopping cart will enhance your customer’s overall experience and will prompt them to return for more convenient e-shopping at a later date. A poor shopping cart solution will only give the customer frustration and dis-satisfaction, prompting them to seek the very same products and services you offer elsewhere. When considering an e-commerce hosting service, it is best to look for the following qualities in an online shopping cart.

Up-Selling Capabilities

If you have worked in the restaurant or sales industry in the past, then you are probably familiar with the concept of up-selling. Up-selling is the practice of offering additional products or services to a customer based on their original search criteria or purchases. For example, if an individual is about to purchase an MP3 player, then an appropriate up-sell would be to recommend a set of headphones to go with the MP3 player. Many shopping carts offer this kind of feature in a n automated fashion, allowing the webmaster to create groups of related products that can be sold together. These groups of products are then used to create recommendations for the customer at checkout time. This kind of feature will not only enhance the convenience of your customer’s shopping experience, but it will also increase your sales revenue as well!

User Reviews

Most customer’s are more inclined to buy a product or service when they see that previous customer’s have been satisfied with it in the past. Customer confidence is a crucial aspect in encouraging the sales of your products, and there is no better way to establish trust than through genuine user reviews. A good shopping cart will allow your customer’s to view reviews of the product they are purchasing, thereby prompting them to complete the sale. It is also optimal to have a shopping cart that encourages new customers to leave their own reviews.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is a crucial aspect in the promotion of any online business. Quality content and keyword density is the most common method of  search engine rankings, however the importance of a good shopping cart should not be overlooked. A good shopping cart will automatically create keyword rich URL’s for you products or services, thereby enhancing your site’s search engine optimization.

Coupons

Most people who shop online are looking for the best prices available. There are many sites online that are solely devoted to offering coupons for products and services. If you are selling one of these products and services then it is crucial that your site have a shopping cart with coupon capabilities. There is no telling how much business you may lose by bot allowing your customer’s to use coupons.

Your site’s page rank is the way Google labels your sites popularity. The higher your page rank, the higher your site will appear in search engine results. All search engine optimization efforts are aimed primarily at increasing page rank value. One of main techniques Google uses to establish your page rank is assessing the number of backlinks there are for your site. Backlinks are links on other websites that contain your site’s URL. The more links there are on the web pointing to your site, the more popular your site appears to be.

Blackhat vs Whitehat

There are two schools of thought in the search engine optimization world; blackhat and whitehat. Blackhat techniques are considered unethical by many, and they are generally used by people who want  to get things done quickly without a lot of work. While blackhat techniques do work, and have given many success, whitehat techniques are seen as being more acceptable by search engines. Whitehat techniques are straightforward, by-the-book methods that also work, but require more manual work and persistence to succeed.

Most search engine optimization experts agree that whitehat techniques are more suitable for people who are looking for long term success, whereas blackhat techniques can bring quick but short lived success. Therefore, in this article we will focus on the art of getting backlinks using whitehat techniques.

Quality Content and Networking

One of the most fundamental ways to get people to link back to your site is by providing interesting and informative content. If your content is useful, then people will want to link others to your site by nature. Many people enjoy sharing information with their friends and family through social networking sites, blogs and forums. A good way to encourage backlogging on your site is to add social bookmarking buttons that give people the opportunity to easily promote your site for you.

It is also a good idea to comment on blogs in your niche, placing a link to your site in each comment. You should also become a member of as many forums as you find that are relevant to your niche. Become a contributing member and place the link to your site in your signature on every forum. This will attract targeted visitors, that are more likely to link back to your site.

RSS and Coding

Make sure you include an RSS feed on your website. RSS feeds keep your visitors updated when new content is posted on your site. This will give each now post much more popularity and therefore a greater chance of generating a backlink for your site. Another useful coding method is to insert a “Link back to me” or “Share this with a friend” snippet on your website.  This will make it easier for your visitors to share your site’s information with others, thereby creating even more backlinking opportunities.

Advertising and Marketing

Another basic way to get more backlinks is to advertise your site to other websites with banners. You should be able to find websites in your niche that have open banner space for a nominal fee. Many times this banner space only costs a few dollars per month. It is best to advertise on sites that are authoritative in your niche, this way you are targeting a specific audience.

With the advent of the Internet, companies now have the opportunity to reach customers around the globe form the comfort of their own office. As time passes, more companies are realizing that not taking advantage of the internet is essentially limiting their full potential, costing them thousands if not millions of dollars every year. E-commerce business is very different from storefront business, as it requires very little investment. Of course with the decreased monetary investment comes an increased investment of time and brainpower. Anyone can open a website and cross their fingers waiting for it to thrive, but to be successful you will need to know what the 5 key aspects of building an e-commerce business are.

1. Finding the Niche

A niche is basically a topic or field that you will specialize in, for example “mobile phones” or “ sporting equipment.” If you already own a storefront business then you can skip this step, but if you are trying to start an e-commerce business from the ground up, this is going to be the most important decision you will need to make. The best way to stay involved with your online business is to pick a niche that you are genuinely interested in. Once you have a list of 5-10 topics you think you could focus on daily, it is time to do research. You’ll need to know how big the demand is for the product you are trying to sell. You’ll need to know how your customers will find you, will they use search engines or will they find you via local advertising?

2. Gaging the Competition

The key is to find a niche that has high demand and little competition. It is optimal to find a niche that is perfect for search engine optimization. There are many tools available that will help your research this information. Once you have found your competition, it is a good idea to learn as much about them as possible. Find out what their sites look like, what products they sell, and for what prices. This will give you something to aim towards.

3. Choosing a Web Host

Now that you have everything planned out, it is time to find a reliable web host to store your site’s information on one of their servers. The most important things to consider are adequate storage space, bandwidth and a good shopping cart function. You’ll also want to make sure the plan is backed by a money back guarantee and 24 hour customer support.

4. Build Your Website

Building a professional website is probably the most important aspect of building an e-commerce business. People trust professional looking websites more than small and simple websites.  There are many templates available online that will help you create a professional looking website from scratch with very little effort. It is also important to consider search engine optimization when building your website, as the search engines will give you a great deal of traffic if you do so. Search engine optimization is not easy however, and you may require the assistance of a professional SEO expert.

5. Marketing Your E-commerce Site

Once you have built your site and you are ready to start making sales, there is still one more step. This step is problem the most crucial of them all. You will need to market your business, for obvious reasons. Without effective marketing your website will sit there and you will make absolutely no money. To effectively market your website you will need more than just search engine optimization. You will need backlinks, blogs, social networking knowledge, video marketing and so much more. There is a plethora of knowledge found online that will help you do all of this. My suggestion to you would be to become a member of a search engine optimization forum, and take as many tips as you can form the experts there. If you want your business to thrive then you will need to do a lot of reading.